A
native son gives back
Written
by: Taryn
Plumb Produced
by: Tania
Doles
Vanguard Law Magazine
For
Pierre Gooding’s family, Harlem had always been home. But after he
was born in 1984, his mother had to face some unfortunate facts: The
neighborhood in the Manhattan section of New York City, rife with
unemployment and homelessness, simply wasn’t a place to raise a
child, or provide him with the schooling he deserved.
So
she uprooted the family, landing more than 200 miles north in
Haverhill, Massachusetts. The decision bred success: Gooding excelled
in his studies and fostered a desire to help others by pursuing
degrees in law and education.
Today,
he’s taken that passion back to his birth city. Proud to once again
call himself a “Harlemite,” he is a Reform Party candidate on the
November 7 ballot in New York City’s 9th city council district.
“The
political arena can be an efficient way to help people, if it’s
utilized correctly,” Gooding says. “This city needs someone who
cares.”
Not much changed
Although
he had long had an interest in politics—his mother likes to recall
how he stayed up all night during presidential contests to watch the
Electoral College process pan out—he didn’t consider that one day
he’d be reinvesting himself in Harlem.
Growing
up in Haverhill, he was able to capitalize on his talents in debate,
teaching and athletics: He participated in the Johns Hopkins’
Center for Talented Youth, as well as the Princeton University Summer
Institute for the Gifted; he scored a 1,020 on his SATs in just the
8th grade; and he ran track and cross country and served as captain
of his high school tennis team.
But
law was the goal. As he puts it, “I always liked to interact with
people, and I thought law was a great way to do that.”
He
went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a
bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology in 2006, and
with a corporate law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law
School in 2011. He served on many boards and committees throughout
his college years—including student government—and he also earned
his master’s degree in teaching from Pace University in 2008.
All
the while, others around him saw a reformer in the making. He was
eventually approached by the nonprofit Teach for America, whose corps
of teachers provides education in low-income schools. It was then
that Gooding thought: What better chance to give back than to
children in Harlem, where he was born?
He
saw the potential to provide his expertise in other ways, as well; he
served as legal counsel for Teach For America’s inaugural alumni
association, and also helped to create the organization’s current
legal structure.
“It
seemed like a powerful opportunity,” he says, although he adds that
his parents were at first apprehensive about the teaching aspect,
because it meant he would had to defer law school. “For me it was a
no-brainer.”
But
returning to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City to
teach English as a Second Language (ESL), he was dismayed to see that
not much had changed since his youth. Affordable housing was paltry,
unemployment was in the double digits and a good education was hard
to attain.
The
latter particularly struck him: His mother had sacrificed to provide
him with opportunities he likely wouldn’t have had if they’d
stayed in Harlem. For example, just on a basic literacy level, there
are currently just four working libraries and two librarians in the
Harlem school district.
“That
has always drawn me to New York City: The need for education reform
in the place I was supposed to go to school,” says Gooding, adding
that, more than 25 years later, “the place I was supposed to go to
school is still struggling.”
Many issues to tackle
Education
is just one vital element to be addressed, he says.
He
also notes a 13 percent unemployment rate, record incidences of
homelessness and a widespread housing crisis. Throughout Harlem and
New York City, outsiders are buying up prime investment properties
and causing rental prices to “skyrocket,” he says. In the end,
that creates a vicious cycle that perpetuates other social problems
such as access to education and decent-paying jobs.
He
suggests aggressive policy reforms that ensure locals are not priced
out of Harlem housing, and that incentivize new companies taking root
in the neighborhood to hire locally and invest in training and
re-training.
“You
have to ensure that longtime residents can benefit from the changes
that come with gentrification,” Gooding says.
Then
there are the simpler micro changes that can help to improve
day-to-day life. In particular, he laments the axing of the “Fair
Fares” subsidy program, which allowed qualifying lower income
residents to purchase discounted subway tickets. Meanwhile, the
neighborhood has to push to retain its identity. (You may recall the
firestorm over rebranding Harlem as “SoHa” earlier this year.)
Looking
ahead, Gooding says there are a plethora of opportunities for
public-private partnerships that could promote technological advances
and even agricultural projects in Harlem. One example of the latter
is Street Leafs, a community-based hydroponics and vertical farming
effort that he has been in discussions with.
“You
have to be creative, proactive, see what’s going on, respond, and
make sure that what you want to see happen is in conjunction with
what the community wants,” he says.
Ultimately,
helping to promote a better life in Harlem comes down to a “personal
fight” for him.
“Every
Harlemite deserves the opportunity to receive a great education, a
great job and affordable housing—right here,” Gooding says. “To
make that happen, Harlem needs elected officials that reflect the
values of the community.”
Original story link.
No comments:
Post a Comment